


The Battle

by ladymarauder85



Series: Bitter Sweet [4]
Category: CrissColfer - Fandom, Glee RPF
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Nosy publicists, crisscolfer, nearly smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-02
Packaged: 2018-03-28 18:08:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3864649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladymarauder85/pseuds/ladymarauder85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris rarely ever complained about how difficult he found things sometimes. He couldn’t hang out with the straight guy in public because people would instantly think there was something going on. </p><p>Annoyingly they were correct in this scenario, but still, it wasn’t fair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Battle

**Author's Note:**

> Set around three months after Darren joins Glee.  
> Management get involved.

“Look, guys. We’re not saying you can’t hang out –“ Chris snorted, folding his arms across his chest and threw Darren’s manager a look of pure loathing. “We’re not, Chris. We’re just saying it might be a good idea to stop taking Darren as your date to events.”

“It wasn’t an issue when Darren went to Amber’s gig last month, or when he gropes Lea on the red carpet, but we’re not allowed to hang out because people might talk, right?”

“Chris, this isn’t the gay thing –“

“Then what the fuck is it?”

“Chris...” Darren said, standing up.

“Oh he actually speaks,” Chris shoots back at Darren. “I was starting to think you had left the room.”

“Chris,” Alla says calmly. “You are the one who has been talking about the rumours surrounding you and Darren and how much it is getting to you. Why don’t you just work with us here and just take our advice?”

It wasn’t often Chris snapped at his publicist, who was one of his closest friends and someone he trusted with his whole life, not just his work one. His sarcastic reply was interrupted by the arrival of Ryan Murphy.

“You two, out please. I want to talk to Chris and Darren alone.” Their respective management left almost immediately and with minimal complaining -- which was a miracle in itself -- and their boss shut the door to the classroom they were using for an emergency ball busting session.

Chris inwardly cringed. Ryan only got involved when things were serious.

Once the door was closed and he was happy they weren’t being watched from outside the door, he turned to his two actors.

“I’m not going to tell you how to live your lives, that’s not my job,” he said eyes flicking to the door where presumably Alla and Ricky were finalising their next attack on their respective clients. “But you know how I feel about messy relationships around here.”

“There’s no one else involved in this relationship – if you even want to call it that,” Darren said, the last part aimed at Chris, who narrowed his eyes. “Us seeing each other wouldn’t have even been an issue if everyone else had kept their noses out of it.”

“Yes and in an ideal world you would all keep your dicks in your pants while you’re at work, but that’s wishful thinking isn’t it? Look boys –“

Chris rarely ever complained about how difficult he found things sometimes. He couldn’t hang out with the straight guy in public because people would instantly think there was something going on. Annoyingly they were correct in this scenario, but still, it wasn’t fair.

“Please don’t Ryan,” Chris s interrupted, deadpan. “We know it was stupid to get involved with each other, we’ll put a stop to it.”

Darren’s eyes snapped to Chris’s immediately. “What?”

“That’s what everyone wants to hear isn’t it?” Chris said, voice rising. “We’ll finish whatever’s going on here and you,” he said, pointing at Darren. “Those two out there and every other asshole who thinks it is their business can sleep at night knowing that they have succeeded in proving that once again, being gay is a massive hindrance to everyone else.”

If it was about anything else, Chris would appreciate his dramatic walk out, but this was his life everyone was screwing with. He stormed past Alla and Ricky and shook off a concerned looking Harry and made it to his trailer and immediately locked the door. Darren was there five minutes later. Chris unlocked it after a few minutes of listening to the obnoxious banging and Darren threw it open.

“Thanks very much for leaving me back there to deal with that,” he shouted, slamming the trailer door behind him. “I get you’re pissed off, but we're meant to be on the same side. I thought we were on the same page here?”

“Exactly what page is that, Darren?”

Despite keeping things casual for a while, odd dates here, drunken hook ups there, they’d arrived at a bit of a strange point. Chris knew that if they were just two regular guys, they would have just decided to either stop things or let things get more serious, but that choice didn’t seem to be a luxury they could enjoy.

“You’ve just announced to our boss that you’re chucking me, _one day_ after I said I wanted to be with you!”

Chris felt his heart trip. He honestly thought Darren’s post-orgasm, drunken comment about wanting to be in a normal, properly functioning relationship with labels and everything wasn’t actually a serious one.

“I don’t know,” Chris replied, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. “Do you really think it will work, Darren? _Really_? You say you want to be with me, but then on the next breath you’re agreeing with Ricky that our relationship – or whatever you want to call it – isn’t worth the hassle.”

“I never, _ever_ said that. Alla and Ricky are not the enemy, they’re just doing their jobs so let’s not blame them, yeah,” Darren said wiping furiously at his eyes. “I meant what I said last night, but if you don’t feel the same way tell me why you kicked up such a fuss in there?”

Darren was always so open with his feelings and although his watery eyes were a sign of frustration rather than actual tears, Chris felt guilty.

“I just want the choices I make to be my own and they’re not. I never said I didn’t feel the same way.” Darren took a step towards him, but Chris held up his hand to stop him. “The problem with you is that you are too focused in the moment, you don’t think of the future –“

“Er Ricky, is that you?” Darren said sarcastically. “Usually you disagree with everything he says out of principle.”

“What I mean, idiot, is that if he continues pushing this image he’s pre-created for you it’s going to be very difficult for you in the future. What if things last with us, then what? Five years down the line someone spots us making out on the beach and a riot happens.”

“Yeah it will, everyone thinks you hate the beach.”

“Funny, Darren. Really witty.”

“I know, but what is the big deal? We’re never going to find out if we’ll make it five more years unless we give it a go are we?” He gets into Chris’s personal space and grabs his hands. “I’m not going to stop being there at your premieres or award shows or whatever, that’s non-negotiable. I’ll reign in the heart eyes and I’ll try to stop staring at your ass while I’m there,” he shrugged. “We’ve all gotta make compromises, right.”

Secrets were usually well kept on set. There was always so much to cover up; sexualities, addictions, affairs, that Chris was horrified to discover people were being so laid back with him and Darren. Most people were happy for them, but nearly everyone had an opinion. He spent three nights in Jane’s spare room at one point to avoid Heather, who thought getting together with Darren was a colossal mistake and Lea who wanted all the dirty, naked details.

Then the whole cast had a massive intervention when it came out that Darren and Dianna had been hanging out together. Even though Chris didn’t think it was an issue several other people did. A fairly heavy storyline involving Quinn and Blaine was scrapped without explanation and Darren was threatened with his balls roasting on a spit by more than one person.

“I hate compromising,” Chris said, avoiding Darren’s eyes.

“Me too,” Darren added quietly, stepping closer to Chris and gently pressing their lips together before he could say anything else.

“And labels,” Chris said sadly. Darren sighed against his mouth, but nodded once. “I’m sorry.”

Instead of making even more of a fuss Chris let go of Darren’s hands and wrapped his arms around his back so he could kiss him properly. “How pissed off – mmm- are you exactly,” Darren said around the kiss.

“At you?” Chris replied dragging his hands down to Darren’s ass. “Or everyone else?” Darren didn’t reply for a good minute or so, while his breathing got more and more ragged.

“Everyone else? Ohh mmm – I mean...uh,” he said pressing their hips together harder. “Noisy trailer sex pissed off, or give everyone a good show back in the choir room pissed off?” Darren didn’t wait for answer and just popped open the button on Chris’s jeans.

“Since we’re already in the tra-“ Then someone knocked loudly on the door.

“ _Ignore it_ ,” Darren growled, pulling at his belt as Chris attached his mouth to the sensitive spot on Darren’s neck. Chris dropped his head into Darren’s shoulder as he tried his best to get his hand down the front of the ridiculously tight pants they insist on putting Chris in.

They both groaned in annoyance when they heard Lea’s amused voice. “I have a master key to the trailers, Chris so if you guys don’t get back on set, I’ll let myself in for a free show. Your choice.”

“Right now, I couldn’t care less if the whole fucking world came in for a free show,” Chris muttered as he reluctantly pulled his hips away from Darren’s hands, because Lea _did_ have a master key to all the trailers for a reason unknown to everyone else.

“One sec Lea.”

Chris was still annoyed at Ryan, Alla, Ricky and Darren by the time they got on set. So pissed off that the minute they started rolling, he pushed Darren up against the nearest wall and kissed him so hard they got a round of applause from the crew, despite ruining the take.

There was no use in arguing about things any more. They were what they were and they were mostly happy with that, especially when they broke for lunch and could continue where they left off in Chris’s trailer. And if he had to continue wrecking takes to prove his point he would.


End file.
